Picture Books
by Ginger Howard
William is determined to build a house for his family that is just like their home back in England. But this New World is nothing like the old one. The supplies are different, the tools are different, and the family's needs are different. With each passing month of the year, he must alter his original plans. Surprisingly, the changes make this house even better than the last. When a ship finally arrives in the harbor carrying his brother's family, William welcomes them into a home perfect for colonial life.
In true living literature fashion, this book will gently teach the customs and cultures of early America.
by Cathy Camper
On her way to visit her Sitti's (Lebanese grandma) house, Lina must trudge through the freshly fallen snow. She listens carefully to the noises around her to describe them to her aging grandmother, who has lost most of her sight. She hears the scraping of Mrs. Watson’s shovel, the pat-pat-pat of children building a snowman, and the thwomp of a boy throwing a snowball. She hears snow in ten different ways. As she and Sitti make stuffed grape leaves, Lina tells of the sounds of winter.
While the text is very simple, it will give readers a small peek at Lebanese-American culture and show how they might honor their elders in small but significant ways.
by Barbara Diamond Goldin
Shavuot is only two weeks away. Max and Sarah decide they must work extra hard to earn enough money to make a mountain of blintzes for the children. The pile of stuffed pancakes would represent the mountain Moses had to climb to receive the Torah from God. They agree to save every penny in a family money box. But as the days pass, they are both reminded of other necessities that must be purchased for the special meal. When it comes time to buy all the ingredients for their Shavuot meal, they peer inside the box and find it empty. How will they ever afford to make a mountain of blintzes?
Little do Max and Sarah know that while they were taking on odd jobs to save for the celebration, the children were too!
by Kim Norman
Each season is unique. For one particular pair of siblings, the changing of seasons offers new weather, new colors, and new pastimes.
This book beautifully illustrates a year of fun in the lives of a brother and sister. Together, they say, "Come" to the changing of calendar time, inviting new indoor and outdoor adventures and anticipating sweet sibling connections all year long.
Leveled Readers
by Charles Ghigna
It all started with a twister. A strong wind hit the pond and stirred up the fish who scared the frogs who chased off the horses and caused the mule to crash into the chicken coop. By day’s end, the cows are sleeping inside the farmhouse, the hens are laying eggs in the cornfield, and the farm is in a frenzy. Will the farmer be able to set everything to right again, or could this dramatic chain of events be just what the farm needs to flourish?
The simple rhyming text of this Level 2 reader is delightfully silly.
by George Shea
The Wright brothers have come to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to test their flying machines, and Tom Tate could not be more excited! He will have a front-row seat to aeronautic history as he watches Orville and Wilbur test their inventions. Tom befriends the brothers and is later invited to take a short flight on an early glider prototype. But Tom's dad is concerned about all the many potential dangers. Will Tom be allowed to participate, and if so, will his first flight be successful?
This Level 4 reader is based on the true story of the friendship between the famed flight brothers and a local Kitty Hawk boy.
Illustrated Chapter Books
by Helen Peters
With a vet for a mom and a farmer for a dad, Jasmine Green has a natural knack for caring for animals. When she attends a piglet birth with her mom and discovers that one pig is too tiny and sickly to survive, she sneaks it home and determines to restore it to health. Eventually, with the swine herder's and her parent's permission, she trains the revived piglet, Truffle, to be a sniffer pig that can find lost items. And just in time, too. Her best friend's guinea pigs have gone rogue, and it's up to Jasmine and Truffle to find the missing rodents.
Please note: Jasmine lies to her parents about being sick to smuggle the piglet into her bedroom. Also, a small boy compares the school lunch lady's face to a moldy turnip.
This is the first in the 16-book Jasmine Green Rescues series, an illustrated chapter book collection about a young girl and her love of animals.
by Katherine Paterson
A deathbed edict from the king forces the prince to marry before he may inherit the crown. But the young Prince Raphael can't propose to just any maiden. According to his father's instructions, the woman he chooses must be his equal in beauty, intelligence, and wealth. The court counselors spend months scouring the land, looking for a perfect partner for the prince, but come up empty. One day, the daughter of a peasant farmer arrives at the palace and appears to be a match. However, she refuses to marry someone as arrogant and heartless as Raphael. She sends him on a quest to prove his merit.
With a hint of both Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty, this book is a return to the fairy tales of old and declares that character is more important than looks, status, and possessions.
Please note: When considering one particular potential princess, the future king recalls, "There was a princess with skin of alabaster on the body of a goddess." Three princesses are said to be "stupid."
Middle-Grade Novels
by Rebecca Behrens
13-year-old Hannah Steele has just completed a babysitting course and has agreed to watch her neighbor's two young children after school. This would technically be her second time ever being alone with kids. Although she's nervous, she assures herself that nothing could possibly happen in their quiet little neighborhood on Pelling Island. Could it?
But then, a 9.0 earthquake shakes the neighborhood, destroying the bridge to the mainland, leveling the power grid, and cutting off any help for Hannah and her charges. Aftershocks soon follow. The house collapses, the kids become injured, and Hannah's asthma flares up unexpectedly.
Will she be able to get everyone to safety? This fast-paced, suspenseful page-turner will keep older middle-grade readers on the edge of their seats.
Please note: Hannah lies to the two children about their mother's whereabouts and the severity of the situation to keep them calm, but she eventually regrets her deception and apologizes. Additionally, one of the characters uses God's name in vain, and another character attempts to tell a "scary story" about a shadow that doesn't end up being scary.
by Jean Van Leeuwen
Merciless Marvin is tired of swiping popcorn and candy bars from the movie theatre. The mouse mob boss thinks he and his band of rodent thugs are ready for "the big time." Together, they plan to rob the local cheese factory. But things don't go exactly as planned.
This light-hearted caper is full of misadventures and hijinx that lead to the shopkeeper's offer to forgive and rehabilitate the gangster mice.
I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, which includes music, sound effects, and 1930s James Cagney-style dialects
by S.D. Smith
What starts as an innocent stunt to sneak to the "wizard's" house after church, find a stolen backpack, and return it to its rightful owner turns into a harrowing adventure for Scott, Tommy, and Dooley. Turns out, the wizard has nothing to do with magic or fantasy worlds as the boys had thought. He's a member of the Ku Klux Klan and was one of many who had previously burned a cross in Dooley's yard. When the authorities find out what Willie Barnes, the notorious "wizard," is up to, they file criminal charges. It's then that Dooley's dad, pastor of the local black congregation, reveals some sobering truths to Willie and the boys.
This powerful story about forgiveness and the redemptive power of Christ, set in the 1980s, is inspired by the author's childhood memories of seeing racial injustice in the hollers of West Virginia and later on the mission field in South Africa.
I'm often asked for book suggestions for older kids who struggle to read. The Found Boys, with its more mature themes of racism and injustice, small word count, and illustrations, would be perfect for reluctant older middle-grade readers.
Please note: The text includes two or three uses of the word "heck."
by Lois Lowry
The year is 1943. Life in Copenhagen under Nazi occupation has been incredibly upsetting for 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen. Her Jewish best friend, Ellen Rosen, has moved in. For everyone's sake, the entire Johansen family must pretend that Ellen is Lise, the eldest sister, who was killed in a car accident several years before. To protect their young charge, the Johansens join forces with the Danish resistance and arrange to smuggle Ellen into Sweden. Annemarie is asked to play a pivotal role in the escape plan.
The narrative is Annemarie's first-person retelling of the atrocities of WWII and highlights the difficult sacrifices of ordinary people in an age-appropriate way for middle-grade readers.
Parents, Be Aware
Aaron Slater and the Sneaky Snake
by Andrea Beaty
A tiny green snake named Vern goes missing from the local zoo. Zookeeper Fred assures the town that Vern is harmless, but the mayor isn't convinced. The zoo is closed until further notice. It's up to The Questioneers to help Fred protect the animals. They all must lend their unique talents to convince the City Council that the zoo and all its residents, including Vern, are worth fighting for. In the end, it is Aaron Slater and his exceptional art that saves the day!
Things to know: This is the final book in the six-part Questioneers series, a collection of STEM-themed illustrated chapter books and spin-off picture books. Like all the previous titles, this one features a same-sex couple, Aaron's two moms.
by R.L. Stine
Liam's mom is making a shark documentary for The Danger Channel. An actor has been hired, a shark has been caged, and the scene has been set for a terrifically scary, albeit perfectly safe, shark encounter. But when the actor becomes injured, 12-year-old Liam is forced into the water. His mother assures him that the entire event is choreographed and that nothing could possibly go wrong. Except, everything does go wrong. The cage breaks, Liam is swept out to sea, and spends the next two days fighting for his life.
This stand-alone, first-person novel from the author of Goosebumps is action-packed. Every chapter ends on an exciting, although at times, unbelievable cliffhanger.
Things to know: Liam's little sister lies multiple times. Once washed ashore and desperate for help, the two siblings sneak into a resort, lie about their identities, and attempt to steal clean, dry clothes from the gift shop. One character says, "sucky."
(Spoiler: Although my underlying concern with the plot may be lost on most middle-grade readers, parents should know that the entire adventure is set up by Liam's mother, who continues to film the two days of terror in order to get better TV ratings. Every character is in on the secret but Liam, who later must come to terms with the fact that his mom sacrificed his safety for her career.)
Just for you, Mom
by Michelle Shocklee
Seven years after the stock market crashed, leaving her relatively well-off family completely shattered and derailing her personal dreams of being a successful journalist, Lorena ("Rena") takes a job interviewing former slaves as part of a special branch of FDR's Works Progress Administration called the Federal Writer's Project.
Her first subject is 101-year-old Frankie Washington, a former slave who was severely abused as a child by her master's wife. Rena, having been sheltered from many "unsavory" topics as a child, is horrified to learn of the atrocities that formerly enslaved Americans endured. Although she continues interviewing others daily to fulfill her contract, she's compelled to return to Frankie's home again and again to hear more of the older woman's story. Little does she know that their families are forever linked through their shared pasts.
This is a dual-time novel. Most of the book takes place in 1936 and features the budding relationships between Rena, Frankie, and Alden Norwood, a fellow FWP employee who volunteers to drive Rena to her interviews each day. However, several flashback chapters are sprinkled throughout, recounting Frankie's early life and acting as Rena's "report" on a former slave.